Jakarta (ANTARA) - Director general of pharmacy and medical devices at the Health Ministry, Rizka Andalucia, on Monday said that Indonesia is actively participating in global research on tuberculosis (TB) vaccines.
"Due to his active participation in the international stage, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has also been appointed as the co-chair of the TB Vaccine Accelerator with the Brazilian Minister of Health," she informed at a virtual press conference on Monday.
According to Andalucia, the step reflects Indonesia's commitment since 2023, when the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council.
The council aims to support the development of and fair access to new TB vaccines as well as encourage coordination to tackle challenges to the development of the vaccines.
Currently, several TB vaccine candidates are entering the clinical trial stage, both globally and in Indonesia, Andalucia informed. The nation is playing an important part in vaccine development by participating in the "TB M72 Vaccine" clinical trial program, she said.
She informed that around 1,800 Indonesians are participating in the clinical trial, while the nation is targeting to get two thousand people to take part in it.
"We are the only clinical trial site in Asia along with other countries in South Africa and Africa," she pointed out.
Andalucia expressed the hope that the clinical trial will be completed in 2028, followed by the start of vaccinations in 2029 to support efforts to eradicate TB in Indonesia.
She informed that TB eradication is one of the government programs stipulated in Presidential Regulation No. 67 of 2021 concerning TB Control.
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This year, TB incidence in Indonesia was recorded at 388 per 100,000 population with 49 deaths per 100 thousand population, she said. TB incidence is expected to reduce to 163 per 100 thousand population, with the death rate falling by 75 percent by 2025, she added.
"I believe that Indonesia's active participation in the research and development of this TB vaccine is certainly useful for eradicating TB, both nationally and globally," she emphasized.
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Andalucia then lauded Indonesian researchers, doctors, and stakeholders involved in the "TB M72 Vaccine" clinical trial.
"Let us strengthen our commitment and collaboration to achieve the goal of eliminating TB both nationally and globally," she added.
